We arrived to the ballet just in time to park two blocks away. Perfect spot. The “car parker guy” quickly handed me a small piece of cardboard he’d ripped up from an old box that said 2000(about $4.00) on it. Which meant after the performance, he’d be expecting that in payment. My friend parked right next to me. She was promptly handed a ripped off piece of cardboard that said 3000 on it. She was getting charged 1000 more because…..her car was white? She arrived 30 seconds later than me? She looked wealthier? I stuck the piece in my pocket, and we walked on to the theater.

A few weeks earlier, I saw an advertisement for the ballet on a small billboard along the road. Melico Salazar is a theater in the heart of town, just a few blocks shy of the National Theater. When our group decided to go to the performance, we checked the Internet site and found the calendar for June. No more. Nothing about Coppelia, the classic comedic ballet about a doll that creates havoc in the world of lovers. I called the theater and the box office spoke in such a low voice I wouldn’t have been able to understand her if she’d been speaking in English. Undaunted, we made a plan to go.

At the box office, they didn’t take Visa. Since I only had enough cash for the gallery seats (otherwise known as the nose bleed section), we left the main theater lobby and walked around the back of the building where we climbed a lot of stairs.

The ballet was great. Even though the seats were hard wooden benches, it gave kids enough room to move when they got antsy and whisper when they got excited. La Compañía Ballet de Cámara Atelier performed to a delighted crowd. Tutus, point shoes, twirls, leaps, and amazing displays of physical strength and grace filled the auditorium. For a few hours, we forgot about car-parkers and ticket takers and the hole I’d discovered in my favorite old black shirt (which I’d worn of course).

It’s no small task making a trip to the arts in Costa Rica. But the price is usually right - we paid $10 a ticket. And all that other stuff just adds to the adventure. That’s why we call it paradise.